STANTON — Montcalm County’s summer household hazardous waste collection on Aug. 6 brought in 17,340 pounds of waste that could have negatively affected the local environment.
A total of 285 vehicles came through the collection site at the Montcalm County 4-H Fairgrounds in Montcalm Township. This collection was supported by the Montcalm County Solid Waste Fund.
All pesticides, mercury and pharmaceuticals collected were funded by the Michigan Clean Sweep Program. Drug and Laboratory Disposal Co. collected the hazardous waste and disposed of it in an environmentally correct way.
The hazardous waste collected included pesticides, articles containing mercury, oil-based paints, solvents, aerosols, automotive liquids, cleaners, batteries, fluorescent light bulbs, hydrogen peroxide solutions, oil and water mixtures.
About 70 percent of a typical household hazardous waste stream is either recycled or disposed of through fuel blending, 10 percent through direct reclamation, 10 percent through direct incineration, 5 percent through neutralization and precipitation and 5 percent through stabilization and landfill.
Oil, tires and electronic equipment also were recycled during the collection, which resulted in the collection of 425 gallons of oil, 660 tires and 9,422 pounds of computer equipment.
Often, people keep hazardous materials around simply because they do not know what to do with them. This program helps keep homes and farms safe.
Recycling makes the solid waste problem more manageable by recovering resources that would otherwise have been dumped in landfills or improperly disposed.
Contact Dixie Ward, MSU Montcalm Extension resource recovery educator, at (989) 831-7500 or (616) 225-7500 to be added to the household hazardous waste mailing list or for more information.

The first day of school is always a little hectic.
But several school districts had a more chaotic day than usual Tuesday due to transportation changes. Parents voiced their concerns on The Daily News Facebook page, specifically regarding Central Montcalm Public School, Greenville Public Schools and Tri County Area Schools.